


The Hard Way

by F1_rabbit



Series: Voyages of the Starship Estrella [7]
Category: Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-06-01 00:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15131198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: Before Marc was captain of his own starship, he was just a kid getting into trouble at every possible chance...





	The Hard Way

_Terran Year 2404_

Marc grinned as he slipped out of his bed, climbing down from the top bunk as he held his breath, scared to wake up his baby brother who was sleeping beneath him.

Alex peeked out from under his covers, and Marc pressed his finger to his lips, waiting for Alex to do the same as he slipped his trainers on.

The warm evening meant that the creaky window was already open, and he slinked out on to the small ledge, enjoying the thrill.

Darting for the woods, he couldn’t stop his heart from pounding as the sound of engines echoed around. The smell of petrol wafted closer, it had been love at first sniff for Marc, and the fact that it was banned made him love it even more.

“Hey kid, what are you doing here?” The older kid wandered closer, and Marc felt like he’d just been caught with one hand in the cookie jar. He was aware of how short he was by comparison, his muscles tiny, and he was envious of the fluffy moustache that the guy kept stroking.

“I… I want to ride bikes like you.” Marc bit his lip, looking down at his shoes as the older kid leant against a tall pine tree, hanging his helmet over a branch as he ruffled his scruffy blond locks into place. He looked so cool, and Marc reached out with trembling hands for the helmet that was sparkling in the moonlight, calling out to him.

“You can put it on if you want.”

Marc snatched it with such force that the branch snapped, and he brushed out the pine needles before pulling the helmet on.

The older kid snorted in laughter before helping Marc with the straps, but no matter how much he tightened them the helmet was still comically large on him.

“Can I race?”

The helmet slumped down over his eyes as if on cue, and the older kid shook his head.

“It’s not safe.”

“I thought that was the point?” Marc pouted as the older kid took the helmet off him, but then he rested his hand on Marc’s shoulder, the warmth of his hand making him shiver in the cool evening air.

“It’s mean to be fun. Dying isn’t fun.”

Marc nodded, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off the bikes that were roaring through the clearing, spraying dirt everywhere as they raced.

“How did you hear about this?” The older kid leant in, the sound of the engines making it difficult to hear, and Marc thought about lying, but there was something about the older kid’s kind smile that made him tell the truth.

“I was in detention with some of the older kids and Mr Gibernau told them off for racing bikes.”

“And you thought that hanging out with the cool kids would make you cool?”

“I’ve seen all the old races, and I want to be a racer just like them.”

“No-one races anymore.”

“I know.” Marc hung his head, he felt like a silly little child, and he knew that he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the bikes tonight.

“You should go home kid, before your parents come looking for you.”

Marc nodded, grateful that the clouds hadn’t covered the moonlight, and he darted back through the forest, his legs shaking as he the smell of petrol faded.

But the urge to race was still there, digging its claws into his soul, and he knew that he would do anything to make it happen.

***

He’d got a helmet that fitted him, it was meant for rock climbing, which he’d convinced his parents was a safe activity for him, but he’d made sure that it was also fit for bike racing.

Waiting for the perfect night to sneak out had been torture to him, and in the end his impatience had almost got him caught.

His dad had got home late from work, and if it hadn’t been for the headlights on the car, he’d have been caught with his helmet. Not even he would be able to talk his way out of that.

He learned his dad’s schedule, and after a week, he was confident that he could sneak out and get home before anyone would know that he was missing.

Alex’s soft snores filled the room, his legs flailing as though he was running in his sleep, and Marc stroked the side of his face so that he would settle.

His job as big brother done, he slipped out of the window, helmet secured on his head as he scaled down the side of the house.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, and the second that he heard the roar of the engines, he knew that tonight was the night.

He wasn’t going to leave until he got a chance to ride one of the bikes.

Pausing at the edge of the trees, he looked down over the clearing, and he was relieved to see the older kid that had let him try on his helmet.

His blond hair was still wild, and he was leaning over his bike, watching the others race with absolute concentration. Marc rushed up to him as though he was handing out his favourite sweeties, sure that his grin made him look even younger than he was.

“Hey kid.”

“Marc.”

“Tito.” He smiled at Marc, standing up so that Marc could admire the bike.

“Can I sit on it?”

Tito pushed the bike closer to him, and Marc hopped on without batting an eyelid, Tito holding the handlebars tight so that it didn’t topple over on him.

Marc studied all of the controls with fascination, he’d read all about it, but feeling it was a different beast. The rough rubber gripped at his skin, and he ran his fingers over the smooth metal of the brake levers, admiring the design of the bike.

“Want to hear her purr?”

Tito turned the keys, and the engine roared into life, the vibrations shaking his bones as he gripped at the handles.

It was so loud that Marc didn’t notice the other racers pulling up next to him until Tito nodded at them, but nothing could have prepared Marc for what they said.

“Wanna race?”

Tito shook his head, but Marc didn’t give him a chance to say no. Twisting the throttle, the bike reared up like an angry bull, and it took all of his strength to wrestle it back under control. His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest, and he was loving every second of it.

Once both the tyres were on the dirt, he could finally appreciate the speed of the machine, the wind slapping his face along the straights, and he cursed the fact that he’d worn such baggy clothes, but he’d wanted to look bigger than he was.

The first corner was tricky, and he ended up hanging off the bike to get it round without losing too much speed. To his surprise, his rivals were well behind him as he came out of the corner, and he buzzed with pride, glad that all his hours of research had paid off.

After that it was easy, and he raced his heart out, gaining confidence with every lap, until he was sliding the bike sideways around the corners, spraying dirt over his rivals.

By the time that the chequered flag was flying, crudely made out of someone’s t-shirt, Marc knew that he had won, and by at least a hundred metres.

“You’re a natural.” Tito took the keys out of his bike, making sure that Marc couldn’t race off again, and Marc pouted but he wasn’t fooling anyone.

His biggest grin was shining out, he felt alive, and he knew that he would do anything to feel this rush again.

“How did it feel?” Tito smiled, and Marc could have sworn that he looked proud of him.

“Amazing, like the best surprise birthday present and my favourite ice cream, but even better.”

“I think that’s enough fun for tonight.” Tito held the bike steady as Marc jumped off, and he knew that he had to get home before his dad did.

“See you tomorrow night?”

“Sure. Night, babychamp.”

Marc stuck his tongue out as he rushed off into the woods, his heart still pounding with excitement when he slipped into bed, and he knew that he would do anything to race again.

*****

_Terran Year 2406_

“It’s not fair.” Marc folded his arms, pouting like a toddler that had lost their favourite toy.

“What’s not fair is you worrying your mother half to death by sneaking out and messing around with those dangerous bikes.” His dad leant forward in his chair, and Marc felt like he was on trial, but it would take more than that to scare him.

“They’re not that dangerous.”

“What did you say?”

Marc hung his head, he knew that being rude wasn’t going to get him what he wanted, and he wanted nothing more than to race again.

“Sorry, dad.”

“Apology accepted.”

Marc smiled, but it was short lived.

“You’re still grounded.”

“But dad…”

“But nothing. It will give you a chance to catch up on all the school work that you’ve missed.”

Marc slunk out of the room, the feeling of dread growing as his dad followed him to his room.

“This door is to stay open.”

“Dad, I’m not a kid anymore.”

“When you start acting like a grown up, then I’ll treat you like one.”

Marc opened his mouth, a witty reply on the tip of his tongue, but he shut it again without saying a word. The last thing he wanted was another punishment.

*

Alex pulled the covers back as Marc opened the window. Even with copious amounts of oil the hinges still creaked, and Alex had always been a light sleeper at the best of times.

“Dad is going to ground you forever if he finds out you’re sneaking off again.”

“He’s not going to find out, is he?”

“No.” Alex held his hands up as though he was surrendering, and Marc rushed in for a hug, kissing him on the cheek as he smiled.

“You’re the best baby brother.”

“I’m nearly taller than you.”

Marc blew his brother a kiss from the window ledge, and he didn’t miss Alex rolling his eyes as Marc scaled down the side of the house as he had done thousands of times before.

He had taken two steps through the garden when a security light flicked on, surrounding him with a bright white light that blinded him.

“You weren’t about to go off racing, were you?” His dad was standing there with a disappointed look on his face, and Marc wished that the ground would open up and swallow him to spare him from the guilt.

“I was jus-”

“Go back to your room, and we’ll talk about your punishment in the morning.”

“Yes, dad.” Marc shuffled back to his room, using the stairs this time, and he knew that there was no way he could try and escape again tonight.

He had to find out how the security light worked, and then he could bypass it.

“I’m sorry, dad.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough. Tomorrow, I will seal that window shut.”

Marc felt tears welling up in his eyes, racing was the one thing that he loved, and now his dad was taking it away from him.

***

Marc stared at the message, wondering how life could be so unfair.

“What’s wrong?” Alex gave Marc a nudge with his elbow, startling Marc out of his thoughts.

“Tito’s leaving for uni, and I can’t even go and say good bye.”

“It’s your own fault.”

“I know, and that makes it even worse.” Marc groaned, burying his face in his hands as Alex stroked his back in an attempt to comfort him. “There has to be a way for me to sneak out for a bit, all I need is a few minutes to say good bye.”

“Tito will understand.”

“No. I have to be there.”

Alex slipped a screwdriver out from under his mattress, and he handed it to Marc as though he was presenting him with an award.

“Dad blamed me for stealing that.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to know how this worked.” Alex held up the pieces of his vidscreen, and Marc’s mouth hung open, his hands framing his shock as Alex’s eyes went wide.

“You better put that back together before dad sees it.”

“I will.” Alex’s grin bordered on smug, and Marc wondered how his baby brother could be smarter than him already.

Marc rushed to unscrew the hinges, his fingers trembling as the window fell forwards, catching the side of his hand and leaving a nasty gash. But he had no time to worry about that. He had to see Tito and say good bye.

He wrestled the window down to the floor, carefully leaning it against the wall, and he knew that there was no way Alex could get the window back in on his own.

He was going to have to be quick.

One foot hanging out of the window, he threw the screwdriver back to Alex with a smile on his face, watching as he carefully tucked it away with the vidscreen parts.

“Cover for me?”

“Always.”

*

He ran so fast that he thought his lungs would explode, but even that couldn’t stop him from saying good bye to Tito.

His house loomed in the distance, and Marc dug into his reserves, sprinting as though a bull was charging after him.

Reaching out for the garden fence, Marc’s legs trembled as he gasped for air, jogging up to the door with a smile on his face, but it was short lived.

There was no answer, and he peered through the window to see that the house was empty.

He was too late.

*

Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran home, scared that his dad would discover the missing window. The last thing he wanted was Alex getting into trouble because of him.

He fell into the room, his chest heaving as he slumped down against the wall, tears streaming down his cheeks as Alex rushed to help him put the window back in.

Marc couldn’t have held the screwdriver without his hands trembling, and the guilt rose up inside him.

He had been a bad brother, a bad friend, and now Tito was gone and he couldn’t even tell him how sorry he was.

Alex sat down next to him, wrapping him up in his lanky arms, and Marc cried it all out, soaking the flimsy cotton of Alex’s t-shirt.

“It’s all going to be okay.” Even though Alex was just ten years old, he sounded wiser than most grown ups Marc knew.

“Promise?” Marc wiped the tears from his eyes, and Alex held up his pinky, making them both smile as Marc wrapped his finger around Alex’s.

“Promise.”

*****

_Terran Year 2409_

Marc tapped his pen against the desk, much to the annoyance of his fellow students.

“Are we boring you, Marc?”

Marc blinked, he had no idea who had spoken to him, or what he had missed while he was daydreaming.

“Yes.” Marc smirked, and he could hear someone gasp at how cheeky he was being.

The teacher crossed his arms, and Marc hung his head, hoping that the school wouldn’t call his parents again. He couldn’t bear for them to be any more disappointed in him than they already were.

“Maybe it would be better for everyone if you studied in the library, where you can’t distract anyone else.”

Marc groaned, it wasn’t his fault that the heat was so stifling that he couldn’t focus, and of all the subjects at school, history was the one he was never going to use again.

He grabbed his bag, slamming the door on his way out and he realised it wasn’t just history that he wasn’t going to need. Everything he was studying was all useless. He already knew how to fix a bike, and he was going to be the best racer that the Earth had ever seen.

Strolling down the corridor, he walked straight past the door for the library, and headed out into the bright summer’s day with a smile on his face.

He knew where some of the other kids stashed their motorbikes, and he knew where he wanted to go.

Almería.

He hadn’t seen Tito in three years, they had barely spoken in that time apart from the odd video call, and Marc cursed the fact that he’d let it go so long without seeing him.

Luckily, he knew the perfect way to make up for that.

*

Eight hours later, Marc felt like he’d ran three marathons, one after the other, and his legs were shaking, not from the long journey, but from nerves.

What if Tito didn’t want to see him? What if that was why he had never come back home?

Standing outside what he hoped was still Tito’s room, his stomach twisted into knots, the lack of food catching up with him. His hand hovered in mid-air, scared to knock in case Tito turned him away, and in the end, his body made the decision for him, his tired arm trembling and rapping his knuckles against the door.

Tito looked like he’d just woken up, his blond locks seemingly untameable, and his smile was so big that Marc couldn’t help but smile back.

“Hi.”

“Hey, stranger.” Marc rushed into Tito’s open arms, the door closing behind him as he felt the lump in his throat growing, and he coughed to hide the tears that were welling up.

“Where’s your family?”

“At home.”

“How did you get down here?” Tito stepped back so that he could look into Marc’s eyes, and Marc could see the concern.

“I rode the whole way.”

“On a motorbike, with wheels?”

“Yes.” Marc grinned, and he cuddled in under Tito’s arm, the exhaustion catching up with him. “I saw one antique car with wheels, but apart from that it was just me.”

“You’ll get in serious trouble if they catch you with a petrol powered machine.”

“Trouble is my middle name.” Marc stuck his tongue out, and Tito snorted in laughter.

“You’ve always been trouble.” Tito gave him a playful nudge, and Marc felt like they’d never been apart.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Marc cuddled in under Tito’s arm, taking a moment to collect his thoughts as he slipped his shoes off.

“Everything okay?”

“I’m sorry that I never got to say good bye.”

“It’s okay, I know you would have come if you could.”

“I came to your house, but you’d already gone.”

“You never told me that.” Tito sat back, but Marc couldn’t look him in the eyes, not while he was baring his soul.

“You haven’t been home.”

“I’ve had to work so hard to keep my grades up.”

Marc nodded, he knew that feeling a little too well. No matter how hard he tried, he struggled to keep up with the rest of the class.

Tito gave him a squeeze, making him smile as he reached out for Tito’s hand, Tito running his thumb over the scar that was there.

“Are you still racing?”

“No, I went a couple of times after you left, but my dad got suspicious, so I stopped.” Marc shrugged, it hadn’t really been a conscious decision, it had just got harder to sneak out. “I didn’t want to cause my parents any more pain.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Not as much as I miss my best friend.”

“You know you can video call me anytime, right?”

“I know, but the hugs are lousy.”

Tito wrapped him up in his lanky arms, making them both giggle as they stretched out on the bed. They spent the night watching trashy twentieth century movies, talking about everything and nothing.

Marc smiled the whole time, being close to his best friend was the most amazing feeling in the world.

*****

_Terran Year 2420_

“Hey, it’s good to see you.”

Marc rushed in for a hug, his helmet getting in the way and making them both laugh.

“Please tell me that you didn’t ride down here.”

“I did, but on a regular hover bike.” Marc stuck his tongue out, and Tito covered his mouth with his hands, laughing as Marc gave him a playful nudge.

“Wow, wonders will never cease.”

“Hey, I came all this way to see you.” Marc wandered into Tito’s room, stripping off his leathers as he made himself comfy on the bed, treating the place like it was his own home.

“Thank you.”

“Congratulations on passing your course.”

Tito smiled, hovering by the door, and Marc could tell that he was deep in thought.

“Dad wants me to work for him, but the idea of making wedding rings bores me.”

“You’ll figure something out.”

Tito grabbed two beers out of the small fridge, and Marc saw the hesitation as he passed him one. Technically he wasn’t old enough to drink, but this wasn’t the first time that he’d drunk alcohol.

“Maybe I should do another course just so we can go to university together?” Tito sat down on the edge of the bed, holding up his beer so that they could clink bottles, and Marc couldn’t miss Tito’s hopeful look.

“I don’t think university is for me.” Marc took a deep breath, even though they talked every day, there were some things that Marc hadn’t told Tito. “I’m failing all my classes at school.”

“You’ve still got a whole year to study.” Tito shuffled closer, holding his arms out for a hug as Marc curled in against his shoulder. “I’ll help you.”

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.”

Tito stroked his hair as Marc took a slurp of his beer, snorting as the bubbles tickled his nose.

“You don’t need to worry about any of that right now.” Tito sat back so that he could down his beer, his grin shining out as Marc did the same.

“Now, we celebrate.”

*

They couldn’t go to any of the student bars, since Marc’s ID clearly showed that he wasn’t old enough to be drinking. So, they ended up at a dive of a bar by the spaceport, filled with a strange mix of people, and aliens.

Marc stared in fascination, he’d never seen anyone who wasn’t human, and he felt like he had wandered into a fantasy land, filled with strange and exotic creatures.

Tito leant in so that he could whisper, “Don’t stare.”

But Marc couldn’t help himself.

He’d lost track of how many pints he’d drunk at the bar, and now Tito was trying to lead him to a table in the corner, away from everyone that he was making uncomfortable with his staring.

Marc was too busy watching a beautiful green goddess to pay attention to where he was going, and he bumped into a guy so tall that he had to crane his neck to look up at him.

“Watch where you’re going, kid.” The thug in the Starfleet uniform gave him a little shove, sneering as he laughed, but it would take more than that to make Marc back down.

“Who are you calling kid?”

Marc felt Tito tugging at his jumper, but he didn’t break eye contact with the idiot in the uniform, his friends swarming behind him like vultures.

“Come on, let’s go.” Tito tried to pull Marc away, but he didn’t budge. He’d always hated bullies, and bullies in uniform were the worst.

“Listen to your friend, kid.” The idiot shoved him, but Marc kept smiling.

“Red really isn’t your colour.” Marc poked the guy in the chest, watching as he clenched his fist, but Marc knew that he wouldn’t start a fight. Starfleet frowned upon that kind of behaviour.

One of his identically dressed friends rested a hand on his shoulder, and the bully backed down, the tension in the room fading.

“You’d better run back to your mamas.”

Marc saw the flicker of sadness cross Tito’s face, and even though there was no way the bully could have known about Tito’s mum, it didn’t change the fact that he’d hurt Tito.

That was all it took for Marc’s fist to be flying through the air, taking the bully by surprise as he stumbled back into his friends.

The blood looked black under the dim lights of the bar, and Marc felt a rush as he prepared to swing again, but Tito was holding him back.

“You idiots wouldn’t last two minutes in space.” He emphasised his point by jabbing his finger at Marc, and Tito stood so that he was shielding Marc from the bully.

The bully turned to leave, but Marc just had to have the last word.

“I bet I’d be a better cadet than you.”

“I dare you to sign up, and then we’ll see what you’re made of.” The bully snorted in laughter, his buddies all nodding in agreement. “Or are you too scared?”

The Starfleet crowd laughed at them as they left the bar, and Marc stood frozen in the middle of the room, all eyes on him.

Alcohol clouded his mind, but that didn’t stop the idea from taking root.

“I’m going to sign up just to prove you wrong!” Marc yelled, his beer sloshing onto the floor as he made rude gestures at them, but they didn’t look back.

The rest of the bar patrons went back to minding their own business, and Tito turned to face Marc.

“Us? Join Starfleet?” Tito took what was left of the pint out of Marc’s hand, and even his look of confusion couldn’t stop Marc from grinning.

“Are you going to come with me?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, their recruitment places are open twenty-four hours.”

Tito’s confusion gave way to a smile, his eyes lighting up as he thought about exploring the universe with his best friend by his side.

“Space would be cool.”

“Exactly.” Marc grabbed Tito’s hand, dragging him out of the bar as he downed the last of his beer, neither of them able to walk in a straight line.

They staggered back towards town, Marc scouring the street for any sign of the familiar Starfleet logo as Tito kept him steady, his arm slung around his waist to stop him falling over.

“There!”

Tito jumped, squinting as he tried to follow Marc’s swaying finger.

“Come on.” Marc dragged Tito across the road, thankfully there was little traffic so late at night, and they stumbled through the door to the Starfleet recruitment centre.

Tito giggled, but the bright lights were sobering to Marc, and he watched the video playing on the screen, enthralled by the beauty of space.

Someone coughed, and Marc had no idea how long the recruitment officer had been sitting there, but Marc felt his determination grow as he strode up to the desk, Tito shadowing his every move.

“We’d like to enlist.”

The recruitment officer eyed them suspiciously, but that didn’t stop him being a professional.

“Okay, I just need you to fill in a couple of forms, and then there’s an aptitude test.”

Marc frowned at the mention of tests, he’d had enough of that with school, but once he had set his mind on something, there was no stopping him.

The recruitment officer showed them to a small room lined with computer booths, and Marc stifled a yawn, mumbling his apologies.

“Would you like a coffee?”

Marc’s eyes went wide at the mention of the magic word, his mouth hanging open as he slung his arm around Tito’s shoulders so that he could steady himself.

“We would love some coffee.”

*

The aptitude tests were a breeze, even when drunk, and the recruitment officer seemed oblivious to the fact that Tito had fallen asleep at the computer.

Beeping signalled the end of the tests, and Marc peered over to see that Tito’s screen had the word ‘completed’ flashing up on it.

“Welcome to Starfleet, here are the details for enrolling at the academy, and don’t forget to bring your high school diploma.”

“Of course, thank you.”

Marc nudged Tito awake, and his grin said it all.

“We’re going to Starfleet Academy together.”

*****

_Terran Year 2421_

For the first time in his life, Marc felt in control of his life, he was top in most of his classes, and everything was more fun with Tito by his side.

Even studying history, which he had hated at school, felt easier now that it had a purpose.

“Cadet Marquez.”

Marc jumped to attention, but his heart sank when he saw Captain Rossi. He oversaw cadet training, but there was no need for him to talk to any of the cadets directly.

Unless they had done something really bad.

Tito looked up at him, his eyes wide, and Marc didn’t need to be a telepath to know what he was thinking.

“Follow me.” Captain Rossi beckoned him with a crook of his finger, and Marc found himself scurrying out of class, practically jogging to keep up with the captain and his long legs.

His nerves grew with every step, and he felt his stomach twist into knots as he strolled into the captain’s office.

“Have a seat.”

Marc sat down in the comfy chair, far more luxurious than anything they had in their quarters, or class.

A single bead of sweat dripped down his temple, betraying his calm and collected act, and he felt like he would spontaneously combust with the heat.

“What year were you born, Cadet?”

“2393. No, wait, 2392.” Marc hung his head, it was game over, and he was honestly surprised that he’d made it this far without anyone discovering his lie.

“You signed up when you were seventeen.” Captain Rossi’s voice was calm, and that made it worse, he’d be happier if he was angry.

“I’m eighteen now.”

Captain Rossi scanned his file, and his eyes went wide when he saw Marc’s date of birth.

“Happy birthday, Cadet, but…”

The pause had Marc’s heart pounding, and he knew that he’d messed everything up, but now that he was here at the Starfleet Academy he didn’t want to leave.

Captain Rossi shook his head, closing the file as he sat back in his seat.

“You’re the best in your class, but that doesn’t change the fact that you lied.”

“I… I signed up on a dare.”

Captain Rossi snorted in laughter before his neutral face returned.

“And your high school diploma is fake.”

“Yeah, I didn’t graduate from high school…”

“Because you were here at Starfleet.”

“Yep.” Marc chewed on his bottom lip, wondering where the captain was going with all his questions.

“If we discharged you, there would be no way that you could re-enlist.” Captain Rossi tapped his fingers against the edge of his desk, and Marc felt like time had slowed just to torture him. “But it would be a shame to lose such an exceptional cadet.”

Marc beamed with pride, even if the compliment had come in the form of a telling off from the captain.

“You are to take remedial classes to make up what you missed at high school.”

“Thank you, Captain Rossi.”

“And you are on academic probation for the rest of the year.”

“Yes, Captain.” Marc tried to keep his smile under control, but he couldn’t stop his grin from shining out.

“Don’t make me regret this, Cadet.”

“I won’t let you down.”

***

“Tito, Tito, Tito.” Marc shook him until he woke up, his eyes bleary as he rushed to pull on his uniform before pausing when he saw that Marc was smiling.

“There’s no emergency, is there?” Tito stood with one arm in his top, the neck digging into his throat as he stared at Marc, waiting for an explanation.

“I got my high school diploma.” Marc did a happy dance as Tito slung his top away, rushing in for a hug.

Tito picked Marc up, spinning him around as they both laughed, stumbling on to the bed in an ungainly heap of limbs.

“I’m so proud of you.” Tito brushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead, and Marc cuddled in, burying his face against Tito’s shoulder to hide the blush on his cheeks. He would never get used to compliments, even if they were deserved.

“Thank you, for all your help.”

“You can’t do anything the easy way, can you?”

Marc stuck his tongue out as Tito tickled him, and he knew that he could have saved himself all this hassle by finishing high school like he should have.

But then he wouldn’t be here with Tito, and he wouldn’t change that for the world.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

*****

_Terran Year 2424_

“We did it.”

“Yes, we did.” Marc lay next to Tito on the roof of their building, staring at the stars above them as he reached out for Tito’s hand.

They were so high up, and yet Marc felt tiny in comparison to the vast universe, the air rushing around them as Tito handed him a can of Starfleet issue beer.

The silence surrounded them, after four years of endless classes and assignments it was nice to have a moment to breathe.

But a Marquez was never quiet for long.

“Guess who has been made captain?”

“You?” Tito rolled over on to his side, his smile threatening to split his face in two as he held up his can of beer.

Marc raised his can for a toast, the beer sloshing out over his uniform, making them both laugh.

“Want to hear the best part?”

“What’s better than being the youngest ever captain in Starfleet history?” Tito stuck his tongue out, and Marc gave him a playful nudge, both of them grinning like the dorks that they were.

“I get to pick my own crew.”

“Really?” Tito’s eyes lit up, this was their dream, exploring the vast depths of the universe together.

“Would you join me, Lieutenant Rabat?”

“I would follow you anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
